Films vs. Books

There have been few movies that I considered as good as or better than the book that they were based off of.  In fact, I usually say that it is almost impossible to make a film better than the original book.  The 2003 film, Holes, based off of the novel by Louis Sachar, is one of those movies.  I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Ring Trilogy films, but, unfortunately, I have never finished the books. I broke my own personal rule that I should read the books before seeing the movie to truly enjoy it.

This all changed after seeing the 2008 film Revolutionary Road.  It was something about Kate Winslet’s acting that made me consider that maybe, just maybe, I was wrong in assuming Richard Yates was a total creep.  The movie made me reconsider my original assumptions and reading of the book.  I started to see how Richard Yates was on April Wheeler’s side the whole time, criticizing Frank’s inability to understand her and their contained society and therefore, leading to her death.  Seeing the movie really helped me like the book more.  In addition, the movie made me extremely uneasy for any future marriage I might have.

Another work we read this quarter was a short story called Minority Report.  I loved the 2002 film Minority Report when it came out in the theaters and had no idea that it was originally a short story. I was surprised when reading the short story I felt the same suspense and thrill reading the car chases as I felt while watching the film.  Though the movie is almost completely different and even took on an entirely new plot than the story, it had the same basic idea of precogs preemptively solving crimes.

I usually hate when movies change the story, add parts, or take away important details that the original story included.  Then, the film becomes a substitute for the original story rather than the original story’s companion, allowing our technological generation to get away without reading books at all.  In one of the Harry Potter films, the director stupidly decided to add an entire fight scene between Harry Potter and another character that not only never happened in the books, but also would never happen in the books.  I was slightly peeved.  It made me realize people who watch the movies without reading the books could live the rest of their lives without having any idea that this was completely absurd. Don’t worry, I realize my concerns are insane. I wonder if reading Minority Report before watching the film would have changed my opinion about it.  However, I really liked the film Holes because I thought it followed the original story completely and just served as a visual aid companion to the book.  This might be because Louis Sachar wrote the original story and the film screenplay as well.  Maybe if J.K. Rowling had written the film screenplays it would have been better?

From my commentary on Holes, to Lord of the Rings, to Harry Potter, to Revolutionary Road, to Minority Report, I can not say that I have a definite rule on if one HAS to read the book before seeing the film to enjoy either.  But I definitely feel better if I’ve read the book beforehand.

The Social Factor

     At first thought when considering why people often times prefer to watch movies instead of read the book I would say laziness is the largest culprit. On second thought, I think about myself and not wanting to seem lazy, I can derive at some other reasons why I watch some movies instead of reading the books behind them. Take for example any of the Nicholas Sparks’ book, it is only on the rarest occasion that I am in the mood for the long and romantic love stories he always presents in his literature and by time it would require me to read one of his books, I would certainly be out of that mood. However, in a matter of only roughly two hours, I can watch one of the movies formed from his novels and receive the essential parts of the story. There are many similar reasons to when a movie is much more practical than is a book that come to mind when I take the time to consider. Time magazine wrote an article in November 2005 that also outlines some reasons why movies can be better than books and then gave examples of comparisons in which some books are better than movies and others where the movies are better than the books.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1134742-4,00.html

     The article does a good job creating a strong argument and backing it up with solid examples. In my opinion, the most interesting thing contained in the article is the reasoning it gives for why many readers are disappointed with movies – that they have already created a perfect movie in their mind while reading the book and any deviation from their personal imaginative creation simply serves as a disappointment. This is a statement that I totally agree with and can attest to out of many instances of experiences. The latest of such experiences occurred this weekend as I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest after recently finishing the novel. The moment I saw Jack Nicholson (acting as R.P. McMurphy) did not have red hair, the movie was ruined for me. I have no idea why McMurphy having red hair seemed to serve as such a crucial part of his character for me, but that is the way I had imagined him from the book and the fact that it was not that way ruined the entire movie for me.

     

     I feel the real benefit that movies can offer that books simply cannot is the instantaneous social factor. I seldom meet a group of people who spend their weekend nights reading together (not saying it never happens, but it is a more rare occurrence); however, movies are always a serve as a good time for friends or acquaintances to spend some time together. Some may argue that book clubs are social gathering that focus their entertainment around the reading of a single book; this is to not be argued but people must spend some amount of time beforehand reading the book to discuss it. On the other hand, movies require no prerequisites and serve as an immediate source of social entertainment; thus, their true value in the American culture.

Do you have any movies you prefer over the books it is based on? If so why? 

hunger games

            About a month back my friend asked me to go see The Hunger Games with her at midnight and I am always up for a good midnight premiere so naturally I said yes. I was stoked but I knew that everyone at the premiere would be hunger game fanatics. At the Harry Potter premieres people deck out in luna, beletrix, harry or even Hedwig costumes and Twilight premieres  (yes, unfortunately I got roped into going to the first Twilight premiere it was comical really) people sported “team Edward” or “team Jacob shirts” so I knew people would dress similarly for Hunger Games. I didn’t want the series to be spoiled by these people so I decided I had to read all three books before the movie which was less than a week away. I read them and surprisingly got hooked. I read all three in a total of two days.

            I looked up the reviews on Barnes and Noble and Amazon. I expected to see several reviews from like 16 year old girls like omg I totally love this. I want to marry Peeta blah blah blah. Girls usually fall in love with the characters of books and forget about the awesome story line. On Barnes and Noble the reviews were definitely mostly from teenagers saying things such as

“i mean WOW ... the best book i ever read soo far!!!! u have to read it!!!!!!” and

“I absolutely and completely love this book! It's exciting and thought-provoking and all-over amazing. It is a bit brutal at times, but overall it's simply fantastic! A must-read!!!!!”

These two reviews have way too many exclamation marks for it not be a teenager. I assume the more exclamation marks and extra letters the younger the writer. Also, whenever someone shortens ‘you’ to ‘u’  I automatically think less of them, I mean really is ‘yo’ too difficult to write? Are you that pressed for time that you cannot type too extra letters but you can add an extra o in so and add about seven too many exclamation marks? These two reviews do not go very deep into the book which is what I expected. It is a good read but is it remarkable?

The reviews on Amazon surprised me the first three reviews were made by people that were older. Not kids even though The Hunger games is a young adult novel.  One of these said :

“It took me a while to get to this book because I never saw it out of my two daughters' hands. They devoured it! Once I read it, I understood. This is the second book I have reviewed this month that had a powerful female protagonist (other being 'Graceling').
I found the book to be well written with a fantastic pacing. Their is violence in there, but not so over the top as to be distracting. Intimate scenes are sparingly written so as not to be too embarassing (something I greatly appreciated as a dad!!) The rage against the system theme is prevalent enough to notice, but not as overbearing as say.... Ayn Rand or Terry Pratchett.

All in all, I highly recommend this book for kids from 12 up. The ending leads me to believe that this will be a series. I imagine I will be pre-ordering as soon as it's available. Congratulation Ms. Collins!!
All the best,
Jay”

Not only was the author of this response an adult but it was also a man. So not only does the novel appeal to kids but also adults and not only females but also males. All three reviews I read on Amazon were much more intelligent sounding than those found on Barnes and Noble. Do you think more adults go to Amazon whereas more children go to Amazon for reviews? I have now come to the conclusion that The Hunger Games is a good read for any reader and you can get as much out of it as you wish.

Harry Potter too good for Cardboard?

Everyone knows, Harry Potter is my all-time favorite book series.   The entire Harry Potter franchise of books, movies, toys, clothes, Theme park, and more amounts in the billions.  I would say it has been a very influential part of my generation’s culture.  To see if this is so, I looked at the 3 “most helpful customer reviews” of the Harry Potter Paperback box set of all 7 books in the collector’s box on Amazon.

I thought, well, out of the three reviews, there must be one that is negative towards the books. Maybe someone religious who doesn’t believe magic should be glorified.  Anyways, looking at the reviews all three were extremely positive about the books.

The first review said, “When is the last time you have read a book and instantly wanted to pick it up and read it again? It doesn't happen often.”

The second reviewer said, “There's no question that the contents of the books inside this so-called chest are of the highest order.”

And, finally, the third review said, “I am a big Harry Potter fan and am no less than thrilled to pieces to finally own the complete set of books.”

Just from these three reviews, I can extrapolate and assume that everyone in the world loves Harry Potter.

The interesting parts of these reviews, however, were not the positive regards for the book series and of J.K. Rowling herself.  Two of these three reviews had a very negative take on the collector’s edition.  These reviewers were extremely upset that the “collector’s edition” was just a box of cardboard with a plastic clasp and really, a cheap product overall for what they thought was supposed to housing bricks of gold.

The second reviewer said, “I wasn't expecting something that was as heavy and substantial as, say, a pirate's chest, but I certainly was hoping that the box was more sturdy than a few flaps of cardboard rather cheaply assembled, and easily DISassembled.”

The third reviewer exclaimed, “Given the obvious fact that Harry is huge worldwide, it would had behooved the publishers to do right by this commemorative set and make the case out of engineered wood (at the very least!) Instead they opted for the cheaper route and decided to make it out of... drum roll please.... CARDBOARD!”

(I especially like the third reviewer’s comment.)

What this tells me of the reviewer culture the Harry Potter Book Series is that they believe Harry Potter is too good for a shabby cardboard box.  They would have much preferred something they could show to guests and feel like a True Harry Potter Fan.  Though I own all Harry Potter Books on my Kindle in both English and German, I someday would like to own my own Harry Potter collector’s edition boxed set, and I think I would feel the same way about the packaging.  

The Cuckoo People

      People are crazy and these people say things that are even crazier than they are. This craziness often times come out in the form of public rants; ranting on anything and everything from the government and military involvements, to books and their authors. Ranting about books sometimes occur in the form of public comments on book store websites, from these occasional crazy book analyses I receive great enjoyment out of reading them and seeing what went wrong with their relationship with the book.  Rhetorically analyzing the public comments on a book store website I have never done; however, to do so I first needed to decide which book I would look for reviews of. The book that was a natural fit (or maybe I’m just lazy) was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey for the simple reason that it is the book freshest in my mind and I also greatly enjoyed it. I got my two book analyses on the Barnes and Noble website and I got one review that was very fond of the book and one that shed a negative light on the book. These analyses in this order go as the following,

“For starters, I have this strange curiosity about psychology; coincidentally we were assigned outside ready in my English class and to my delight a Ken Kesey novel was on that list, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I went into the book without many expectations other than the fact that I was excited to read it, I fell in love. Not only does Kesey refrain from shying away from saying something vulgar and true, he shines a light on what many don’t want to see. Based on semi-non-fictional experiences, Kesey offers a glimpse into a psychiatric ward in the late 1950s. Many things are learned throughout the novel such as brutal ways patients were treated with, the head nurse exercising a totalitarian rule over the ward and that not all the patients are crazy rather they have tendencies that are different from the norm. I really loved the novel and I highly recommend it as a “must read” because it touched topics that most people would not think of on a normal basis and really made you question the definition of insanity.”

“Maybe its because I might be to young to actually get it or understand the book but I was bored out of my mind! Forced to read it as part of my summer reading I read it. And the narrarator was really confusing and random like he would just in the middle of the story retell stories of his life before he went to the hospital. I wouldnt recommend this book to anyone who is or younger than the 9th grade unless youre really bored and looking for something to do. The only plus to this book was that it was the shortest on my list of summer reading.”

    The first review seems to be from someone of a higher education because they read and enjoyed the book. Not saying your dumb if you don’t like it but it does take a fair amount of close reading skills to truly enjoy it and he/she says it was assigned to her in a class. I truly enjoy this review for many reasons, first she sheds light on what the book contains in an intriguing way for the male mind by saying it contains things vulgar and true. Secondly, she gives great background information on the subject that I did not know until reading the review. Finally she gives her true opinion on the book and since I have come to the point that I can trust her now because we seem to have some things in common, well at least in terms of literature, I would be very interested in reading the book if I had not previously have done so.

     The second review is from a kid that states he is much too young to read the book. In my opinion anytime you are going to talk negatively about an American classic and not be shunned, you must be either very very well educated (I’m talking at least a Ph.D.) or uneducated (you simply don’t know better yet). This kid fits into the later of the two but does however reveal some valuable information for readers depending on their level of education. He/she states the book is confusing because the way the narrator switches from the future to the present or maybe even past. This is true, quite frankly I am still a little confused on whether the story was told in the present or past tense. However, this did not keep me from seeing the absolute glory in this particular read, as I feel like it will limit no one else of a capable intelligence level. This kid also calls the book boring, which I put about as much merit in as I do in his ability to write with proper grammar.

     I enjoy book reviews because they give me raw responses to a piece of literature before I read it. I read the book reviews, find which of the reviewers I feel my cognitive abilities match the closest to, and judge that my reaction to the book may be similar to theirs. Most of the time this allows me to choose to not read books I will have no interest in and only pick books that I’ll end up enjoying.

    

the man behind HIMYM

Carter Bays is the one of the main writers and creator of the show How I met your mother. How I met your mother focuses on Ted telling his kids how he met their mother. One would think that this would be a short story like “ I met your mother while grocery shopping” or something direct and to the point.  Ted starts the story many years before ever seeing the woman he marries. He tells stories that get fuzzy because he goes on so many ridiculous funny tangents. I thought it would be interesting to look up Carter Bays Twitter to see if he is like any of the characters he writes. Ted being the hopeless romantic that says I love you too early, Marshal the funny married man or Barney the man that refuses to settle down and uses women.

A lot of what Carter Bay tweets is about pop culture. It is evident that he loves movies and watching television shows. About a quarter of what he posts is a funny remark making fun of some other writing other than his own. He posts “if you take out the dramatic pauses, the movie Drive is 14 minutes long”. It is clear that he is married and has a child through posts that say he was with his daughter when something happened that was funny. He never does the annoying post often seen on Facebook “ I loveee my wife and kid so much” which is refreshing because honestly, no one cares. People follow celebrities because they post funny things so I find it annoying when they post “I just went to Kroger”. Although Carter Bays doesn’t post about personal things he does promote How I met your mother quite a bit. Its clear that he loves his job and the industry in general.

People quickly judge others based on what they say on Facebook or Twitter. I know I am guilty of it. I also know I have a soft spot for nerds. With this said, I think Carter Bays and I would get along. His background is space themed which I automatically assume means that he is a nerd.  I mean you have to be a little nerdy to love space and not be afraid to show it. Maybe he believes in aliens I don’t know but he is automatically cooler in my eyes. He also posts a lot of immature jokes and I would imagine he cracks up to himself while posting them- like man am I funny type stuff.

After looking at his twitter I imagine Carter Bays to be an awesome guy not only does he write How I met your mother( which is hilarious) but he also is that guy in real life. He makes funny of political worries and makes light of situations.  I can imagine a little of all of his character in him--the immature humor of marshal and Lilly, the seriousness about work and love of Ted, the ridiculousness of Barney, and the sarcasm of Robin. I am obviously guilty of judging people based on their websites but its hard not to. 

Not Your Average Literary Figure

When the average person is thinking of literary figures those who come to mind tend to be famous authors such as Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, or Jane Austen; however, the first literary figure that comes to my mind is Elizabeth Wilson. Never heard of her? No surprise there, unless you one of the fortunate students or staff at Paint Valley School District within the last 8 years. Elizabeth Wilson was my Honors American Literature and AP English Language and Composition teacher during my final two years of high school. She had a much larger impact on my ability to write, read, comprehend, analyze, and critique literature than any of the famous authors mentioned above. Quite frankly, Shakespeare and the others only served as mechanism for which Miss Wilson could nurture my skills from.

            Miss Wilson has a policy for all of her students that once they graduate they can add her as a friend on Facebook. Although this may seem controversial for some, many of her students add her after they graduate each year; being close with her I decide I would do the same. A quick glance through her profile shows that she has no outrageous status or pictures from a night at the club that would violate the activities that are considered the norm for a middle age English teacher. Actually, under closer investigation her Facebook page lends her to be the type of character that one expects and desires, or at least I do, in an English teacher. Pictures mostly of the gardening and remodeling she has done and her friends and family at social events. She does have some pictures of students on such occasions as graduation or in the plays she directs. The pictures of herself would be deemed appropriate by all, not making an attempt to appear overly provocative or seductive. She posts statuses usually containing inspiration quotes by an author or occasionally by herself, all of which are very rhetorically pleasing and grammatically sound. Miss Wilson also takes advantage of the notes feature of Facebook which I did not know existed until I found it on her page. On her notes she has a variety of things ranging from a salute to our veterans, rules on the proper use of periods, commas, and question marks, and short literary pieces she has wrote. Through her works you will find that she clearly knows English and how to write in beautiful prose; the only thing you will find even more evident is her love for her job and students. It is so ever-present on her page the love she has for English and that she loves sharing her love for English with students. However, what you will not find on her page is complaints about working late into the nights on a drama production with students, the rigors of having to teach four sub-subjects of English to students a large portion of are unwilling to learn or any such complaints about her job. Her devotion and compassion towards her students is the one thing that anyone who analyzes her profile will take away from their experience.

            Although some may argue that it is unacceptable to have your teachers or past teachers as Facebook friends, I would argue in the situation that is present around Paint Valley permits such actions. Paint Valley High School is a school of only 375 or so students and a small staff also.  A student is likely to have one teacher all year long for multiple years. This builds close relationships with teachers that both students and teachers wish to keep as they move throughout life.  In different situations this may change. Students could potentially look teachers up before choosing schools and learn about their teachers. This could be either a beneficial or harmful tool for students depending on what they desire in a teacher and how much a teacher leave out for public access on their page. A student seriously concerned about their education could search teacher’s alma maters and teaching careers out from Facebook before they make their decision on what high school to attend. Other less academically-minded students could seek out teachers who seem to be younger and more laid back, the sort of profile that lends a teacher to be “easier”. However, the reverse of this is possible as well; teachers can openly search for students on social media websites. In my opinion this is a much more impactful aspect of Facebook. Who knows the effects and bias that would be create if a teacher knew the personal lives and weekend choices of their student?

Do you find having teachers or ex-teachers as friends on a social networking site is acceptable? Why or why not?

Do you feel like social networking sites are more advantageous for students or teachers in learning about the other?

"Suri's" Burn Book

Almost everyone I know has a Facebook/Tumblr/Twitter account to connect with others in a public space.  With public comments, pictures, statuses, and blogs a picture of the real “you” begins to come out making your profile as authentic as you choose it to be.  But, what happens when your profile is made by someone other than you?

I first encountered this phenomenon by the hilarious Twitter account @LeBronJamesEgo. This Twitter account is not run by LeBron James himself, but rather, someone pretending to be LeBron James.  The author (@ChrisJOShea) tweeted as if he was the real thoughts and feelings of LeBron James’ ego.   I’m from Cleveland, so naturally, I find jokes made on LeBron’s expense quite funny.  Here’s a good example from April 4, 2011:  “DON'T CARE WHO WE PLAY IN THE PLAYOFFS CAUSE I JUST MADE A RINGTONE OF ME SINGIN BOOTYLICIOUS SO REALLY I ALREADY WON.”  (ha ha ha)

Though this account is long gone, I have recently discovered a similar situation.  Suri’s Burn Book (surisburnbook.tumblr.com) is a Tumblr account written by someone pretending to be celebrity child Suri Cruise of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes – a child popular for her ability to pull off heels as a six-year-old, and The Daily Beast’s Number 1 Most Influential Celebrity Kid.  The author (or genius behind) Suri’s Burn Book takes images of other celebrity children and critiques their fashion, pacifiers, and parents celebrity status.  The Tumblr “Suri” is also known for disliking her mother immensely.

Here’s a great example from March 21, 2012:

“Everything about Katie Holmes makes me physically cringe.”

Or how about this one critiquing Kourtney Kardashian’s child Mason Disick on March 13, 2012:

“Here’s Mason Disick wearing pajamas and Uggs in public – and in need of a barrette or a haircut or something. Next time you try to tell me this child has style, I will refer you to this photograph and we will move on.

No, really, let’s move on from these people.”

To be honest, I think this is hilarious.

Though this Tumblr account could not possibly be written by the real Suri Cruise, the account gives readers the idea that the real Suri Cruise is, indeed, as judgmental, self-righteous, posh, and The-Devil-Wears-Prada-editor-esque as the account makes her out to be.  The fact that she wears heels and dresses well for a six-year-old says more about her class and her parents Katie and Tom than it does about her own personality.  Though some celebrities have to battle the media for giving them false personalities – it is rare that the celebrity would be six years old with no other claim to fame than her own parents.  I often wonder how Suri Cruise will feel when she finally comes across this column. Will she laugh along with the Tumblr followers? Will she feel bitter that someone construed her childhood as such?  Because of immense popularity and use of social media, the viewers of this blog are truly unlimited.  Anyone who visits this site – whether they mistakenly believe that it is the real Suri Cruise or not – leaves the site with an image of who they thinks Suri Cruise truly is, giving the real Suri Cruise a false identity.  If considering how this might hurt Suri’s feelings – should blogs pretending to be someone they are not even exist?

Finding fake accounts for celebrities like these make me wonder what would happen if someone created an account for me.  It’s like that interview question that asks “If your friends were to describe you, what word would they use?”  How would people critique my views or looks?  Would I be a joke or would I be admired?  When social media creates an infinite amount of ways to represent oneself to the public, most people really hope that the image shown it’s the right image they want to present.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2011/12/19/most-influential-celebrity-kids-photos.html#slide21

http://twitter.com/#!/LeBronJamesEgo

http://www.surisburnbook.tumblr.com/

facebook cigarettes

A graffiti artist who signs their work 2wenty goes around to poor areas and creates a piece of art which is light and comical to bring attention to the way the area is. Like many graffiti artists, 2wenty passes out stickers and puts up stickers everywhere he or she goes as a sort of business card. The idea is that others will also put up 2wenty’s stickers and his or her name will be known to all. His or her stickers are different than most.  2wenty has created a cigarette box but instead of cigarette printed on the front Facebook is instead.  2wenty believes that today, the younger generations are addicted to social media. The parallel between Facebook and Cigarettes is fitting because to many Facebook is a harmful addiction. Honestly, I check Facebook way too many times a day. There is no reason for me to be checking Facebook, other than to creep on people I don’t really care about and to procrastinate doing homework. My roommates and I have monthly challenges and first quarter one challenge was to see who could go the longest without checking Facebook. It took 2 weeks before one of us gave in. 2 weeks—that’s just sad. We have become so dependent on Facebook that people give up Facebook for Lint. I know several people that told me that Facebook or twitter is what they were giving up. You are supposed to give up something that would be really difficult to give up and people choose Facebook. I agree with 2wenty that the addiction to Facebook is becoming ridiculous. Facebook is a good website; I just think that people are becoming too dependent on it.  Like texting, Facebook is becoming an easy out for people; they no longer have to say something difficult to someone’s face they can now make it a status or message on Facebook.

                I would consider all of 2wenty’s work art because it is a personal disposal for his or her creativity. Many would argue that the stickers are not because they are computer generated but I would argue that they are because they were designed to be simplistically but they still provoke emotion and are something that a lot of creativity was needed to create.

                If you were going to design something very simplistic in looks to convey something in society that you thought was right or wrong, what would you critique? The war in Iraq, Twitter, our politics? I think that 2wenty. How would you distribute it? 2wenty wanted people to recognize their growing dependence on Facebook as a society so the sticker idea was a good choice. People will distribute the stickers whether they think they are cool or not because the act of putting stickers on public things is fun- it’s rebellious. 2wenty won’t have to travel to get his work to other states and countries; others will do that for him.  The sticker also allows others to manipulate the image and add their own work ontop of his, which many have done. 

BANKSY

The “guerilla” graffiti artist Banksy is “perhaps the most famous, or infamous, artist alive” because though his work is famous, no one knows who he/she/??? truly is (dailymail.co.uk 7/12/2008).  Speculations of Banksy’s identity are vast and some even believe Banksy isn’t just one artist but a union of many.  Banksy uses his public guerilla graffiti art to critique add irony, humor, and critique to our everyday lives.

When I first saw Banksy art, I was surfing the Internet, but I can only imagine what it would be like to see it on a building wall in your city.  I love Banksy because Banksy uses everyday environment to create art.

 

An ordinary street sign in London – turned into a hamster wheel by Banksy - forces a second glance and a smile at the simplicity of the art.  

In this example, also from London, Banksy adds irony to (what I assume to be previously drawn) graffiti by adding his own graffiti art.

Finally, this Banksy in Toronto critiques our society and particularly the humanity of corporations and “the business man.”

I think Banksy’s work is hugely important for society.  Being a Cleveland girl, I am constantly faced with news about the erosion of Cleveland and other cities in the “Rust Belt.”  Though London and Toronto, just two of the many cities Banksy works in, are no where near the critical level of Cleveland, public art for the masses can turn a wall of an abandoned building into a place of beauty – or even a tourist attraction.  The fact that Banksy’s art is “for the masses” is another important detail.  I enjoy art history and museums, but I do recognize that the audience who can afford to attend museums and feel comfortable there is limited.  Public art, and especially an art form like graffiti, is for everyone, whether they enjoy it or not.   Anyone who passes Banksy’s work can stop for a moment (or more) and admire it or dislike it, may it be a businessman with “0% interest in people” or a homeless person resting for the night.  It is a public art form that can not be ignored.  The Banksy “shop” on his website encourages that his work be used freely for everyone.  I put the word “shop” in quotations because it does not sell his work but rather lists what viewers can “Please feel free to [do]” and what to “Please do not” (www.banksy.co.uk).  Under “Please feel free to,” Banksy even asks that people “pretend [they] drew it [themselves] for art homework.”

The question of whether graffiti art is a legitimate art form (compared to expert opinions on Rembrant or Picasso) is trivial.  We live in a consumer culture today, in which museums and galleries don’t allow pictures to be taken in the hopes that viewers will buy postcards and mugs and umbrellas and prints and calendars and cooking aprons and on and on and on.  Banksy rejects this culture by creating critiquing, ironic, and funny art for the masses.

Lil Wayne Critiquing The Big Man

Music is art. Rap being classified as a type of music; therefore, categorizes it as art also. Rap is not my favorite type of music or art. Although I feel as if rap is art, I do not believe it is fine art or even good art. It does however provide as an example of art being used as a social critique. The example of this that comes to mind first for me is Lil Wayne’s single “Georgia Bush”. See link below for music video via YouTube (for fair warning the lyrics do get very vulgar.)

Georgia Bush by Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana - a city and area he still has strong ties to. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina he released his single “Georgia Bush” which critiques the president of the period, George Bush (Georgia Bush as referred to in the song) and his effort for relief during hurricane Katrina. Due to Lil Wayne’s close ties to New Orleans, he felt as if Bush’s lack of timely relief during the catastrophe was racially motivated, unjust, and insufficient. Whether or not that it was racially motivates or not is a debate to be had elsewhere but the point being is Lil Wayne used his art or music to socially critique not only President Bush’s support of hurricane relief effort but also the efforts of other public figures. The question here is how much effect do artistic social critiques such as Lil Wayne’s rap single have. I personally stray away from political involvement so my views of hurricane Katrina came out of the lens of daily updates on the status of the affected areas. Therefore, I was unaware of the relief efforts headed up by our president at the time until I stumbled upon this song. At which point I automatically made the assumption that the information the song contained was true because human nature usually leads humans to believe what they hear.  I do not personally listen to rap music often and I am also not involved with the culture usually associated with it. People who are avid listeners and hold highly regarded artists such as Lil Wayne as role models must have had their views on our president swayed. Lil Wayne’s arguments were not completely untrue and most certainly not unbelievable. It is hard to blame people who enjoy rap music and follow closely to the rap culture to not listen to what Lil Wayne produces. After all Lil Wayne did help in the relief efforts and even donated over 200,000 dollars to the cause which lends him some credibility to his name in the area in which the hurricane struck. Many of his listeners live in or around Louisiana and the site of hurricane Katrina; thus, in a dire situation such as a hurricane people want someone to blame. Blaming Mother Nature does not make anyone feel any better; moreover, blaming the lack of relief efforts on a public figure head does serve as a convenient scapegoat for the suppressed anger. In this way Lil Wayne and the art he produced had a major impact on the opinions of people who follow his music.
     Do you think music as social critiques has an actually effect in society? How would you compare the effect that art as social critique has to the opinions of famous and well groomed people?

women in media

http://thefbomb.org/2012/04/why-the-media-assault-on-ashley-judd-is-larger-than-a-puffy-face/

The blog the f bomb is a blog focused towards younger girls to explain why women’s rights are still an issue today. The post selected is about the author’s reaction to a pop culture incident. Recently, Ashley Judd got a lot of negative comments back after appearing publicly. People harassed Judd about her appearance being ‘puffy’. Judd retorted back by saying, “The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality…and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about”. The blog then goes on to say that today women are objectified more than ever and held to ridiculous standards regarding appearance.

The blog suggested that women are still being “contained” today. Most people seem to think that the containment of women is over and that women’s rights are a topic of the past. Even though women are receiving more and more rights, they are still being contained. The media today is what is holding women to a different standard than they wish to be held to. Like the article said; women are portrayed in pop culture as unrealistically skinny and pretty. It is this image that women are expected to uphold. Society has put women in a box when it comes to appearance. More and more young girls are having eating disorders because they think they have to look a certain way to be a woman. Girls think they have to look this way because their role models, models and actresses, conform to society’s standards by looking the way they are expected to look. So women are furthering their own containment by subsiding to the standards set for them. Along with this, guys have decided that looks are the most important thing. Commercials and some television shows have made it seem like as long as a girl looks a certain way nothing else matters.

Along with this, media today is also doing its share to end the containment of women. Several shows today are showing women as equals to men. 30 Rock, for example, shows Tina Fey as a working woman who doesn’t care what she looks like. There are several shows today portraying women in a new light. Years ago, women in television shows were always portrayed as the house wife who was unrealistically pretty – this is still going on to some extent as I said above , but more and more so, women are receiving their own distinct voices in television shows. The families are not always perfect but more realistic. Women have jobs in shows and men take care of their families not just women. So in this way, media is doing its job to end an era of suppressed women. Shows urge women to do what they want and not to be afraid to break the mold.

Do you think that pop culture today is doing more good or more bad when it comes to societies view on women? Do you think that they are still being “contained”?

Comforts of Rural Living

http://www.rileycountyks.gov/images/pages/N375/FallRoad.jpg

Please examine the blog: Understanding the Aspirations of Rural High School Students

http://blogs.learnnc.org/the-well/2012/03/01/understanding-the-aspirations-of-rural-high-school-students/

     This blog examples one of the instances of containment culture that I have personally witnessed. The author, Jonathan Bartels, couples himself with a researcher, Dr. Meece, to describe the underachievement of the students attending rural high schools around the nation. After completing their research, they concluded that rural students are not achieving at the level which they should be. They propose this piece for anyone who is not a part of or someone unfamiliar with the challenges of the rural life style. Although the writing is not persuasive, it does inform the reader of a moving topic – the containment of young rural students and their future. Informing the public is their main purpose for publishing their work because if people are not informed about the problems of our nation, they will most definitely never seek to solve them.

            

     This blog strikes home to me; growing up and attending a rural high school that could have easily been a facility for the author’s research. I see the containment of students from the bright futures that they could possess constantly. The problem is identifying who plays the role of “the container.” The blog fails to offer any real explanations, simply offering informative statistics and leaving out any in-depth reasoning. As a student and a rural citizen, I feel as if I escaped the containment culture of rural living. However, I did and still do feel the effects on my life. I feel like the cause of this containment culture comes from the lack of aspirations in rural living. Actually, it is less of a matter of aspirations but more of an issue of feeling too comfortable. I find that kids growing up in the rural areas are often times too comfortable or plain out unwilling to leave the easy life they live and seek out a bigger and brighter future. Although it may seem as if I am playing towards the cliché of big cities and big dreams, this is not my goal; actually it is the opposite of my goal. I want more students growing up in areas much similar to rural Bainbridge, Ohio where I have lived all my life to seek secondary degrees, seek promising futures, and most importantly seek to improve upon the live they have been living all their lives. Not to say that country living is bad; personally I love it and miss it dearly. I just know from firsthand experience that opportunities are limited in that environment. Of course most people analyzing the situation would offer that the education systems in rural areas lend student to be unable to handle a college course load or even getting accepted into college altogether. This is simply not the case; I went to a subpar high school and pay the price for it currently. I had little to no help or guidance while applying to and getting into college; now that I am here I find courses to be much more difficult than the average student and spend countless hours studying to compensate for my poor basal-education. However, I know it is possible for most rural students to come to a larger university and succeed; myself as an example, I maintain an above average GPA at one of the nation’s best universities in an effort to find a greater purpose in my life than living around the rural neighborhood and working a simplistic and non-skills related job. This requires me to live outside my comfort zone constantly – a thing more rural students should do. Doing so is the only way to escape the containment culture of rural living.

After reading this, are you reminded of any examples in your own life where you have “escaped” containment culture? If so, explain how and why you did.

Can you think of any other containment culture placed upon the youth of America nowadays that suppresses and limits their futures?